Nights to remember
by dayana82
Summary: Following from 'Quarantine'. Jennifer had told Ronon that she'd missed out on a lot, especially parties – and he wants to make up for that. Ronon/Keller, basically fluff, no Wraith, no fights... Please read and review.
1. Movie night

Title: Secrets

**Title: **Nights to remember – part 1: Movie night

**Pairing:** Ronon/Keller

**Rating:** K

**Disclaimer:** Neither the show nor the characters belong to me, they belong to FOX. Nonetheless, I love to borrow them from time to time.

**Summary:** Following from 'Quarantine'. Jennifer had told Ronon that she'd missed out on a lot, especially parties – and he wants to make up for that.

**warnings:** none

**AN:**_ I wrote this little three-chapter story quite a while ago but since I was so busy writing for another fandom, I never got to post it. Fortunately, now I'm kinda stuck with my other stories… :) _

_Thanks a lot to Gretchen for the fast beta-reading._

"Hey, doc." he grinned at her when he entered the infirmary.

"Another sparring wound I need to stitch?" she grinned back at him.

"No… um…" he mumbled and gave her one of his breathtaking smiles. "Actually I just wanted to ask you something."

"Well, then" Jennifer smiled and turned at him to give this dream of a man her full attention, "ask away!"

"Sheppard's having another movie night." he informed her. "This evening, you know. He said it's a very famous love movie. Um… 'Love totally' or something."

"'Love actually'." Jennifer corrected and giggled softly. "Yeah, I know the movie. I'm sure you'll like it. Oh, well, maybe you won't 'cause you're more the action film kinda guy."

"I don't know what that means." he mumbled and then cleared his throat before he explained: "The reason I told you about the movie night is that I… well… wondered if you might wanna join us."

"Oh." was all she could answer obviously taken by surprise. After having thought it over for a few seconds she blushed and replied: "I don't think I should. You know, I… don't really belong… there."

"You'll belong with me." Ronon smiled. "I mean, since I invited you and stuff… Please?"

"That's really sweet, you know, but… I have a lot of work to do." of course, that was a lie but Jennifer hoped that Ronon wouldn't realize that. Hopefully, she was a better liar than she'd be company tonight.

"Sweet?" he frowned. "You know, you told me that you… well, missed out on a lot, especially parties and stuff. And if Sheppard hadn't force me to join his parties I have missed out on a lot as well… certainly. So I thought I could… I know, it's probably not the same but… I just want to show you that you really do belong here."

"Thank you" she smiled, visibly touched by his words, "but…"

"Please, doc… Jennifer." he insisted. "It's just a movie and it's usually a lot of fun. Especially Rodney's reaction when we're all pelting him with popcorn. You shouldn't miss that."

"Really, Ronon" she looked down so that he couldn't see her blush in response to his use of her first name, "I'm tired and…"

"Please, I promise it's just the one movie and I'd be glad if you'd come with me." he smiled.

Jennifer sighed. Who could have resisted such a smile. "Okay." she finally said. "I'll join you."

Ronon's face lit up and he answered: "Great, I'll pick you up at seven."

"Great." she nodded and watched him swagger out of the infirmary. God, he was so… so… hot! Jennifer wasn't able to think of another word to describe him.

And he had just invited her for a movie night. That was almost like a date. She felt the blood sink to her feet at the thought of that. It wasn't a date, right? It was just two friends going to a movie night… together. No, it certainly wasn't a date.

Okay, now she was definitely nervous! She shouldn't have agreed to go. Not if she wasn't even sure whether it was a date.

She kept worrying about it for the rest of the day – especially during the one and a half hours she spent in her room trying to figure out what to wear. If it was just a movie night between friends she could wear the uniform. Or maybe just jeans and a shirt. But if it was a date she should certainly dress up a little. She didn't want to make a fool of herself by being dressed inappropriately.

On the other hand she would make an even greater fool of herself if she did dress up and it wasn't a date. Plus everyone else would notice it and probably laugh at her. God, she almost felt like in high school.

Sighing Jennifer sank on her bed and stared at the ceiling. That was exactly why she didn't like the whole dating stuff. It was simply too complicated. Why couldn't people simply say what they felt for each other – and if the feelings weren't mutual just forget about it and go on like nothing had ever happened.

Unfortunately, the latter was far from possible. She couldn't tell Ronon that her stomach was full of butterflies whenever she saw him or that she was sure she was going to faint every time he gave her one of his gorgeous smiles. God, why wasn't it simply forbidden to be so hot!

When her doorbell chimed she considered pretending not being at home or being asleep already. But Ronon had invited her and she'd accepted so it wasn't fair to dump him now. She could at least spend some time with him, be near him and enjoy his presence even if they'd never be more than friends.

She could at least have that. So she took a deep breath and opened. Just to feel the butterflies again when she saw him standing there smiling at her. She was surely going to faint any second.

"Are you ready, doc?" he smiled and held his arm out for her.

She swallowed hard, nodded and linked arms with him.

The silence between them started to feel a little awkward, so Ronon decided to try and bring up a conversation. "So you… watched this movie before?" he asked.

"Not really." Jennifer shrugged.

Ronon raised an eyebrow at her: "How can you 'not really' watch a movie?"

"Well" she sighed, "I wanted to watch it but… I didn't find the time to do so." No need to tell him that she simply hadn't found someone who wanted to go with her!

"Well, good." he smiled again and her knees started to tremble. "'Cause it means for the first time Teyla and I won't be the only people who haven't watched the movie yet."

"You're lucky 'cause I hardly ever watched any movie." she grinned and could have kicked herself the next second. That sounded as if she wanted to be invited to every movie night from now on. She'd just invited herself, very considerate!

But Ronon grinned back at her and replied: "Great, 'cause it means next time I invite you, you can't decline because you already watched the movie."

She just smiled shyly in response not sure what to make out of his words and was relieved that they'd arrived at Sheppard's movie hall as he called the room he used for his screenings.

Everyone had arrived already. Rodney had made himself at home at a small couch to the right of the huge screen. Teyla was sitting on the larger couch, a huge bowl of popcorn in her lap, and smiled at the two arrivers.

"Hey, doc, Ronon!" Sheppard greeted and grinned at them. "You're lucky, we've reserved a seat for you." he pointed his hand at the other smaller couch to the left of the screen and opposite McKay's couch.

Shyly Jennifer sat down, her eyes already fixed on the screen, and swallowed when she felt the seat beside her being pushed in. The couch was almost too tiny for two people and she felt Ronon's leg brushing against hers in a way that made her shiver. Fortunately, Sheppard started the movie before she had the chance to think about all that.

Pelting McKay with popcorn was fun. Nonetheless, today there was something that caught almost Sheppard's entire attention – namely the new assumed couple on Atlantis. Unfortunately, they didn't look like a couple at all stiffly sitting next to each other. John sighed. It wasn't going to work this way.

Jennifer Keller was extremely shy and apparently nervous in Ronon's presence. She wasn't going to make ANY move, ever. Alas, Ronon was too much of a gentleman to make a move either if he didn't get any clear signals from Jennifer – who, as already determined, was far from giving any signal at all.

John cleared his throat to get the tall Satedan's attention. When the latter turned to look at him, John yawned theatrically and used this movement to put an arm around the beautiful Athosian to his left. He gave Ronon an asking look and pointed his head towards Jennifer.

Teyla noticed John's movement and turned her head a little to raise an eyebrow at him.

He shrugged nonchalantly and pointed his head towards the couple on the other couch without even considering taking his arm away from where it was resting on the backrest behind her.

Teyla darted a small smile at the Satedan who looked a little lost and the young doctor who was so focused on the movie that she didn't notice one bit of the wordless conversation. When Teyla looked back to John, she gave him one of her 'I see' nods and turned back to the movie. But the corner of her mouth went up a tiny bit.

Ronon tried to give John an 'I won't do that' look. When it didn't work he tried the 'I can't do that' look. When this didn't work either he sighed and carefully put his arm on the backrest just as John had showed him. Unfortunately, to do so he had to shift a little on the tiny couch so that now his leg was pressing against hers.

Jennifer felt his movement and saw his hand coming to rest at the backrest just next to her face and his leg pressed against hers. She swallowed again as she felt her stomach flip-flop from nervousness. Her biggest problem was that now her position was far from comfortable and due to the fact that the couch was so tiny there was only one way she could shift to get into a more comfortable position.

She gulped. Oh, well, she could still just get up and look like a complete idiot. Even worse than the other option. So she shifted in an attempt to get a little farther away from him. But the couch was very soft and when she sat back she sank into the pillow below her until her back came to rest… directly against his chest.

Her first impulse was to jump up from the couch, away from the touch. But Ronon was faster. He shifted a little so that she was fully settled against him in a much too comfortable way and wrapped his strong arms around her. God, she was either going to faint or to throw up out of mere nervousness – and neither of the options was very luring.

Ronon felt his heartbeat speed up considerably as he shifted to place his arm on the backrest. What if she didn't want it? How was she going to react? He was most definitely going to kill Sheppard if she didn't want that and jumped up or started to yell at him.

However, he was relieved when she shifted and sank back against him. He shifted to get into a more comfortable position for both of them and wrapped her in his arms a huge smile on his face. This evening went a lot better than he'd ever dreamed of.

John tapped Teyla's shoulder with the hand that still rested behind her back and pointed his head at the cuddling scene to their left.

She smiled up at him and formed a voiceless 'works well'.

Nodding John put his arm around her shoulder and turned his attention back to the movie. Everything really worked well – not only for Ronon.

The only one who missed the most important parts was Rodney – as usual.

It didn't take Jennifer long to feel completely comfortable in his arms and she relaxed. Smiling she snuggled up a little closer against him and her eyes fluttered shut. She was so tired and she felt so comfortable and warm that she simply couldn't manage to keep them open much longer.

"Now, why exactly is this movie said to be one of the best love movies?" Rodney complained while the credits were running. "I mean, it didn't even have a happy ending – at least not for all of them. And all those different stories. That was much too confusing. If you ask me…"

"Shhh!" John scolded him.

McKay darted a quizzical yet deprecating glance at him. But when John grinned widely and pointed towards the other couch he couldn't help but smirk.

Ronon had leaned back against the couch and Jennifer was leaning against his chest. His arms were wrapped tightly around her middle as if he wanted to protect her from the rest of the universe. But what really made this scene cute was the fact that they were both fast asleep.

"Shall we wake them up?" Teyla whispered.

"Nah, let them rest." John chuckled.

"They're going to ruin their backs if they stay in that position much longer." Rodney argued.

The grin on Sheppard's face grew wider. "That's a small price to pay, don't you think?"

"We shouldn't leave them here in public." Teyla disagreed. "The people from Earth tend to talk too much and I don't think they'll be very happy if anyone from Atlantis found them that way in the morning."

John sighed again. God, he would kill to see their faces when they woke up in each other's arms the next morning. He took a deep breath and then tapped Ronon's shoulder.

The first thing Ronon noticed was the tap on his shoulder and then the wonderfully sweet scent of Jennifer's hair. The corners of his mouth went upwards a bit but when he opened his eyes to meet a wide grin on Sheppard's face he just frowned.

John just nodded his head in the direction of the sleeping women in Ronon's arms and then pretty much dragged Rodney and Teyla out of the room.

"Why didn't you wake up Doctor Keller as well?" Teyla wanted to know.

"Oh, come on." John rolled his eyes. "Grant me at least a little fun!"

Teyla raised another questioning eyebrow at him.

John grinned at her: "I would have died to see her face after she woke up in his arms."

Teyla just sighed and shook her head as she followed him down the corridor. Sometimes John Sheppard, one of the bravest soldiers she ever came across, reminded her a lot of a little boy.


	2. Party night

Title: Secrets

**Title: **Nights to remember – part 2: Party night

**Pairing:** Ronon/Keller

**Rating:** K

**Disclaimer:** Neither the show nor the characters belong to me, they belong to FOX. Nonetheless, I love to borrow them from time to time.

**Summary:** Following from 'Quarantine'. Jennifer had told Ronon that she'd missed out on a lot, especially parties – and he wants to make up for that.

**warnings:** none

**AN:** _I know, Ronon's behavior or feelings at the end seem to be a little out of character again, but I just liked the thought that he is not always the tough cool guy. :)_

This time he'd made sure he had a reason to be in the infirmary. He didn't want it to look like he was just showing up to ask her out. He would mention the party casually and the fact that he didn't have anyone to go with.

Not that he hadn't been asked. In fact, he'd turned down half of the female population of Atlantis – and two men. He wanted to ask Jennifer to go with him. Partly because he was sure she wouldn't go if he didn't ask her. And he'd sworn to himself to make sure she wouldn't miss out on anything again.

And another part of him, certainly the bigger one, didn't want to go with anyone but her. It had been a lot of fun to watch the movie with her about a week ago. Well, the best part apparently hadn't been the movie but the cuddling with her – and the fact that the first thing he'd smelled when Sheppard had woken him up had been the sweet scent of her hair and how she had looked up at him after she'd woken up, sleepy and a little puzzled but more beautiful than ever. That moment Ronon had decided that it was about time to act on his feelings.

"You really should be more careful." she scolded him with a warm smile.

"I'll try." he smirked and watched her skillful little hands fix the bandage. "So, do you already have a date tonight?"

"For what?" she asked and smiled at him.

"McKay's birthday party." he explained a little puzzled. Rodney had been talking about it for weeks now inviting everyone at least five times. He couldn't have forgotten to ask her – and he liked her in his way so he certainly wanted her to show up as well. And Jennifer couldn't have forgotten about the party either, right?

"Oh, that." she smiled sadly and looked down. "You know, I… won't go." No need to mention that no one had asked her – as usual.

"Why not?" he immediately exclaimed. He wasn't sure that he wanted to go if she didn't join him.

"Well, you know… I… have a lot of work to do." she mumbled.

Ronon eyed her up and added: "And you watched the movie before?"

Smiling sheepishly she nodded: "Yeah, something like that."

"I told you I won't accept that as an excuse." he reminded her. "Come with me!"

Her head shot up and her eyes widened. For a few seconds she just stared at him before she said: "You've certainly already been asked by every woman in Atlantis."

"No, not every woman." he replied honestly.

"But quite a few." she added sadly. There were so many women on Atlantis and at least ninety per cent of them wanted to hook up with Ronon. She was… just one of about thousand other women.

Ronon shrugged: "I didn't want to go with one of them. But I'd like to go with you."

Okay, she was definitely dreaming. That had to be a dream! Why for God's sake should Ronon Dex – THE Ronon Dex – want to go to a party with her? There was absolutely nothing special about her. Because if there was anything special about her she wouldn't have been the only one no one asked out her whole life long.

"Doc?" he asked a little insecurely when she didn't answer. Had he gone too fast telling her that she was the only one he wanted to go with? Or maybe she just wasn't getting his point.

"Why?" was all she managed to say.

Ronon frowned with confusion. "Excuse me?"

She could have kicked herself – once again. She could have said anything in return, ANYTHING! And she had to ask him why. She was really great at making a fool of herself.

Embarrassed she looked down and mumbled: "Why… do you want to go with me?"

Smiling Ronon replied honestly: "Because I enjoy the company of a beautiful and very intelligent woman."

"Oh." was all she managed to say as she blushed deeply.

"I really like to spend time with you." he added in a soft tone he only used towards very few people. "Because I really like you."

Carefully Jennifer raised her head to look at this breathtaking smile once again and her knees turned into jelly right away. She felt her lower lip tremble and tears spring to her eyes. This couldn't be true. It simply couldn't be happening. No one had ever said something so… so… beautiful to her before.

"So" Ronon smiled, "will you honor me with your presence at the party tonight?"

"Yes, yes, of course." she quickly nodded. "Thank you."

"No, thank you." he smiled. "I'll pick you up at six."

"Okay." she couldn't help but grin like mad – and that didn't change for the rest of the day.

This time Jennifer decided that it couldn't hurt to dress up a little. She could at least pretend she'd just done that to please McKay. So she opted for a plain but beautiful black dress. Plus as far as she remembered McKay had said that a formal dress was required.

Ronon chimed at her door two minutes before six and she opened with the same huge grin on her face she'd carried around since he'd left the infirmary. And the next second she gasped when she saw him in tight black jeans, a white shirt and a dark blue jacket.

"Wow, you look… gorgeous." she said breathlessly. And this definitely was the understatement of the century!

"Well, you're in no way inferior to me, if I may say so." he smiled and held out his arm for her.

Grinning she linked arms with him and let him lead her down the hallway. "Do you think we're dressed appropriately?" she asked to start a conversation.

Ronon shrugged: "If we aren't, we can still have a party of our own."

"I don't think Rodney would like that." she giggled.

"Who cares?" he grinned. "I want to spend this evening with you and I don't really care about the location."

Okay, now that was really strange. Was he actually flirting with her? Or was it just a joke?

As much as she'd been happy about his words in the infirmary she was now confused. She'd been sure he'd meant everything he'd said as a friend. Words to encourage her, cheer her up. But now she wasn't sure she'd gotten it right.

Hadn't he said that he'd blown off every girl who'd asked him because he'd wanted to go with her?

She was so busy trying to figure out what all this meant that it actually kept her from enjoying the party. Most of the time she wasn't even there, mentally that is.

"Enjoying the party?" a soft female voice interrupted her thoughts.

A little startled she turned her head to look into Teyla's smiling face. "Sure." she quickly assured.

"How about your date?" the elder woman grinned.

"Oh, well" Jennifer felt the blood rush into her cheeks as she looked over to Ronon who had volunteered to get them some drinks, "I… Ronon was so kind to ask me to join him."

"I don't think he was being kind." Teyla smiled.

Her head snapped around to stare at the Athosian: "What do you mean?"

The other woman just chuckled and pointed her head towards the tall Satedan: "He hasn't taken his eyes off of you all evening."

Jennifer swallowed. "So?" she croaked.

Teyla put a comforting hand on her friend's shoulder: "He's not like the men from Earth. He isn't afraid of your intellect nor does he feel inferior because you're smarter than he is."

All Jennifer could do was nod before Teyla gave her an encouraging smile and left her alone. A second later she noticed that the Athosian had left because someone else was slowly walking up in her direction, the gorgeous smile on his face and two glasses in his hands.

Could it be true? Had all the men who'd never been truly interested in her just been AFRAID because she was rather intelligent? No, she wasn't intelligent enough for anyone to be afraid of. She wasn't a Rodney McKay after all.

They emptied their glasses without talking a lot because Rodney had decided to welcome them to his party. Jennifer didn't really listen to him as she tried to figure out how she could find out what Ronon's intentions were without embarrassing herself.

"May I have the next dance?" the deep masculine voice next to her suddenly asked and she felt a pleasurable shiver running down her spine.

"Sure." she managed to say her throat as dry as if she'd spent days in a desert.

Smiling Ronon grabbed her hand and pulled her close to his smoking hot, muscular body.

"You know, I should warn you." she gasped. "I'm not… really a good dancer."

"Me neither." he shrugged. "As a matter of fact, I've never done this before."

"Really?" she looked at him almost in shock. She'd never imagined there could be anyone in the universe having even less experience in dancing than herself.

"Well, we were so busy fighting the Wraith all the time that we didn't have any social events or parties." he shrugged. "We didn't celebrate our birthdays and when I was about twelve we even stopped having weddings and funerals."

"Right" she bit her lip, "sorry, I didn't think about that."

"It's okay." he assured. "I tend to forget that certainly none of the people from Earth have grown up under such… circumstances."

"I wish you hadn't either." she mumbled.

"Well, in fact it brought me here." he shrugged. "So I figure it wasn't all that bad."

"And I'm glad about that." Jennifer replied before she had a chance to think about her words.

His face lit up and he leaned down to kiss her cheek. "Me too." he breathed into her ear.

She was going to faint. Most definitely, right here and now. But fortunately the fact that she still leaned against his body while they were slowly swaying to the music gave her enough support to keep standing.

A few minutes past ten McKay held a one and a half hour speech praising himself and what he'd done for Atlantis and each and everyone of them. Due to the fact that Sheppard had very well provided him with wine beforehand, this speech was rather funny instead of just boring.

Around midnight Ronon walked Jennifer back to her room, slowly in order to make this evening last just a few minutes longer. And the whole time he kept wondering if he dared to kiss her. She seemed to be a little nervous and he couldn't stop wondering if it might be because she didn't want this… him. Or maybe he was just going too fast.

Her knees became weaker the closer they got to her room. What was he going to do? What if he was going to try to kiss her? And what if he wasn't? She wasn't sure what would be worse.

"Well, this is it." Ronon smiled when they reached the door to her room.

"Yeah." she replied huskily, turned towards him and looked down nervously shuffling her foot.

"Thank you" he smiled and took a step forward, "for a wonderful evening."

"Thank you" she replied her voice barely above a whisper, "I… can't remember the last time I had so much fun."

Okay, it was certainly now or never – unless he wanted to let Sheppard hurt him again so he could show up in the infirmary tomorrow. "You know, what I said in the infirmary today, I meant it." he started. "I really like spending time with you."

"Thank you" she blushed and her heart skipped a beat, "I… like spending time with you too."

"Well, great" he smiled and sighed with relief, "because I wanted to ask you something. You know, tomorrow is a game night."

"Game night?" she asked.

"Yeah, another of Sheppard's ideas of a social event." he chuckled. "Like the movie night, just that we play games."

"Like?" she pressed him a little insecurely. She'd never been a very sportive person and she definitely didn't like sparring.

"Well, last time we played a game called UNO." he explained. "I don't think I entirely understood what it was about."

"That's okay, I… I know the game." she smiled.

"Yeah that's what it's about. Parlor games from Earth, a lot of fun." he mumbled. "And I was wondering if you might wanna join me… us."

She gulped at the thought of another evening she would spend with Ronon asking herself if there was a tiny chance that he might like her as more than just a friend but forced herself to smile. "Sure, I'd love to." she nodded.

"Great!" he exclaimed relieved that she had accepted the invitation. "Great, I'll pick you up at eight. Well, a few minutes earlier that is 'cause the game night starts at eight." Why the hell was he suddenly so nervous that he couldn't even articulate a very meaningful sentence anymore?

"Great." she smiled. _The English language has more than four hundred thousand words and you can only repeat what both of you have already said numerous times?!_

"Yeah" he nodded, "so… see you tomorrow." Ronon's heart sped up. What was the appropriate thing to do now? Should he kiss her or was that going too fast? Would she reject if he tried? And if he didn't try to kiss her would she think he didn't want to? Damn, why did this whole dating ritual have to be so complicated?!

Ronon decided to opt for a middle course. So he took a deep breath and leaned forward.

Her heart stopped beating and she held her breath when he suddenly moved closer. He was going to kiss her… now… here… Suddenly Jennifer started to feel uncomfortable. Wasn't all that going… too fast? Was she really sure she wanted this?

Of course, she did! She'd wanted it from the first moment she'd seen him. She'd wanted it when they'd been locked up in the infirmary – okay, she'd also thought they were going to die in there, but still… Who wouldn't want to kiss someone like him? The only problem was that Jennifer was far from experienced considering relationships. As she'd told him she'd missed out on a lot.

Oh, sure, she had had a few flings. Well, one that had been a little more serious. But that was it, her whole experience. And Ronon… a man like him was certainly much more experienced than a pathetic little affair several years ago.

His lips gently brushed over her cheek just millimeters next to her mouth and Jennifer sighed – partly with relief and partly because this simple touch felt like an explosion sending a pleasurable prickle through every single cell of her body.

Smiling he pulled away, wished her a good night and left.

She stumbled back into her room and sank on the bed unable to stand any longer. Ronon obviously liked her – in a more than just friendly way. And tomorrow he would pick her up for the game night and certainly, hopefully take her home afterwards again. And maybe she would even get the kiss she was now craving.


	3. Game night

Title: Secrets

**Title: **Nights to remember – part 3: Game night

**Pairing:** Ronon/Keller

**Rating:** K

**Disclaimer:** Neither the show nor the characters belong to me, they belong to FOX. Nonetheless, I love to borrow them from time to time.

**Summary:** Following from 'Quarantine'. Jennifer had told Ronon that she'd missed out on a lot, especially parties – and he wants to make up for that.

**warnings:** none

"Oh… um… Sam." Rodney stuttered as he arrived. "I didn't know you're joining us."

"I thought it was a nice idea." she smiled as he a little nervously took the seat next to her.

"We're gonna play 'Clue'. It's a game for up to six people." Sheppard announced with a grin and held out the cardboard for them. "It's a dog eat dog game about a murder."

"Sounds like a rather brutal game." Teyla stated which caused everyone except Ronon to grin.

"No" Sheppard chuckled, "it's just… theoretical, you know."

"You mean we imagine the dogs?" she asked.

Jennifer giggled softly and John just raised both his eyebrows puzzled. "There are no dogs." the young doctor explained. "That was just an idiom saying that there are no teams in this game and everyone's trying to win. So it's everyone against everyone so to speak."

"I see." Teyla nodded. "But what about the murder?"

"Okay" Sheppard proudly continued, he loved to be in the position to explain something at times, "everyone gets a bunch of cards, don't show them to anyone! There are cards with suspects on them, cards with rooms and cards with weapons. Everyone gets a token and a dice. We'll throw the dice rotationally, Miss Scarlet starts – which is our good doctor 'cause the name on the board nearest to her is Miss Scarlet. You can move your token in any direction except diagonally, you can't enter a square twice in one turn or a square that's already occupied by another suspect. Instead of throwing the dice you can also use a secret passage to enter another room, if you wish.

Now, what we are trying to find out is who killed Mr. Buddy where and with what weapon. Therefore I'm drawing three cards I put in the secret Case File Envelope beforehand, a suspect, a room and a weapon. Now whenever it's someone's turn he or she tries to enter a room. You can make a suggestion whenever you enter a room. To do so you move a suspect and a weapon into the room you entered. Then you have to say for example 'I suggest the crime was committed by Miss Scarlet in the library with the pistol'.

And then you try to prove it wrong or right by asking your fellow players, at first the one to your left. They will check their cards and see if they have any of the cards you suggested. If one player doesn't have any of the cards, you'll ask the next player until one player has one of the cards. This way you try to rule out suspects, rooms and weapons until in the end you know which cards I drew.

However, if none of your fellow players has any of the cards you suggested, you proved your suggestion right and you can make an accusation. Then you say 'I accuse Miss Scarlet of committing the crime in the library with the pistol' for example. You can make such an accusation whenever you think you figured out whodunit. Then you check the three cards in the Case File Envelope. If you were right, you won the game. If you were wrong, you lost and aren't allowed to continue the game.

Any questions?"

"Not so far." Ronon mumbled.

Grinning Sheppard took three cards – one from the pack of suspects, one from the pack of weapons and one from the pack of rooms – and with a rather theatrically gesture he put the cards into the envelope. Then he shuffled the rest of the cards and dealt. Everyone got three cards.

Ronon checked his cards. The library, Mrs. White and Professor Plum. He crossed these cards out on the 'notebook' Sheppard had handed him.

Sheppard placed every token where it belonged on the board. Then he placed each of the weapons in a different room, three rooms left empty.

"Well then, let's get started." he announced, rubbed his hands and sat down.

"I have a question." Teyla shifted a little in the seat to get more comfortable. "Why exactly do people from Earth think that murder is fun?"

"We don't think that." Sheppard grimaced. "We just like… challenges. In fact, this wasn't a real murder, it was just made up for the game. And it's thrilling to try and find out who did it. It's a… mind game."

"That's true." Rodney nodded. "It takes a lot of logical thinking to figure out who committed the crime where and with what weapon. Keeps your brain cells working, right doc?"

"And this game is fun." Jennifer assured, checked her cards and threw the dice.

Ronon smiled. It certainly was going to be fun sitting a whole evening next to her close enough to smell the scent of her hair and her perfume. _Perfume? Did she ever use perfume before?_ Ronon's heart leaped with joy at the mere possibility that she'd just put it on for him.

"But murders like this happen on Earth, don't they?" Teyla insisted. "People from Earth tend to kill each other."

"Yeah, we're big bad animals." Sheppard grimaced again. "Don't tell me you don't have murders in this galaxy!"

"Of course, we do" she replied, "at times. But we don't make games out of it."

"Still this game is fun." he sighed. "Just consider it… a challenge for your logical thinking."

"I suggest the crime was committed by Mr. Green in the hall with the rope." Jennifer said and gave Ronon a questioning look. When he shook his head Jennifer turned to Sam.

Smiling she handed her one of her cards – the hall – so that only Jennifer could see it.

Ronon stopped in the lounge and thought for a moment. Then he took Professor Plum and the rope and said: "I suggest the crime was committed by Professor Plum in the lounge with the rope." Then he looked at Sam.

She shook her head. So did Rodney. Teyla showed him the card with the lounge.

He had to admit that this game – as strange as it was to him – was really fun. Probably because it was a challenge. Or maybe it was just the fact that he was sitting so close to a certain doctor again, and this time she seemed to feel very comfortable about it.

They had enjoyed some wine and beer during the game and the mood was getting better and better. Jennifer had a whole lot of fun – especially when Rodney was complaining again that this game wasn't solvable with mere logic. She couldn't remember the last time she'd laughed so much or the last time she'd felt that she really belonged right where she was.

Smiling she turned to Ronon who was carefully watching Sam, whose turn it was now. She had to remember to thank him for pretty much forcing her to join first the movie night, then McKay's party and now the game night. She could definitely get used to hanging around with these people – especially one of them for sure.

"Okay, I suggest Mr. Green in the library with the knife." Rodney sighed and rolled his eyes when Teyla showed him the card with the knife.

The game lasted for hours, basically because they were chatting, laughing and teasing each other – mostly Rodney as a matter of fact – the whole time.

Finally Sam said: "I accuse Colonel Mustard of committing the crime in the ballroom with the wrench." Grinning she took the secret case file, took a brief look and laid them out on the board.

"Great job, Colonel!" John grinned. "But I'm sure that means Rodney is challenging you to a revenge game next time. Usually he wins."

"It was just because she had the Dining Room." Rodney put John off.

"Come on, Rodney." Jennifer smiled at him. "Allow someone else to win this game. We won't think any less of you."

"No, in contrary we would be proud of you 'cause you're a good loser." John grinned.

"Well, congratulations, Sam." he mumbled and forced himself to smile.

"It's just a game, Rodney." Jennifer gave him one of her warm and beautiful smiles and Ronon felt a sudden urge to just grab her and kiss her right there. "If Atlantis was on the verge of destruction we wouldn't know what to do but you would save the day without blinking."

"Oh, well, maybe that's a little exaggerated." he smiled. "Okay, actually it's not, you're right." When he noticed everyone's taunting expression he quickly added: "But… um… you can save everyone who's hurt and… and Ronon saved many lives already. I could only save the city… and not without help."

But Jennifer just laughed: "Relax, Rodney! If it wasn't for your outstanding brain you wouldn't be here and we all know what you're capable of."

"Did you hear that?" Rodney grinned proudly at Sam. "Outstanding brain."

"Yeah, and we all agree with her." John rolled his eyes. "Except for… Rodney definitely doesn't need more self-confidence."

"Really funny." he grumbled.

Jennifer was glad that she'd been able to spend a whole evening next to Ronon – although apart from a few words and a few hidden touches from him there hadn't been much interaction. But it was still great to just be with him. And he'd left no doubt that he thought the same. In fact, he'd clearly shown his interest in her.

She still couldn't believe it. Her whole life long she'd been the outsider, the last to be picked for the sports team, the only girl without a date on Valentine's Day – or any other day as a matter of fact. And here he was, the hottest man on Atlantis, the man almost every other woman wanted, the man whose presence everyone sought at a party. And he was interested in her of all women.

When he suggested walking her to her quarters she found herself grinning like mad again. Maybe he would kiss her today – and this time she was definitely sure she wanted it to happen. She'd had a whole day to prepare herself for that, mentally of course. She turned around to him and smiled when they reached the door to her room.

Ronon smiled back at her and rested his hand against the wall right next to her beautiful face. Yesterday, she'd been obviously nervous so he hadn't dared kiss her. He'd opted for a kiss on her cheek instead just close enough to her lips to make clear that one day he wanted a real kiss from her. And today she didn't seem reluctant.

Her heart started pounding like mad and her knees were trembling when she saw the smile on his face. She sank back against her door. This was it. The moment he would lean down and kiss her. She was certainly going to faint and make a complete fool of herself.

His other hand came up to her cheek and he let his finger gently caress the soft skin. He studied her beautiful face until his eyes came to rest on her lips. His smile grew wider when she licked them, obviously awaiting his lips on them. Slowly he leaned down.

Jennifer took a deep breath and when his lips met hers she let it out in a sigh. God, he smelled so good and his lips where a lot softer than she'd expected them to be just like his beard that gently tickled her skin. Jennifer wrapped her arms around his neck and felt his arms come around her waist to pull her closer against him.

She willingly opened her mouth to deepen the kiss and detected that he tasted even better than he smelled. And he was such a great kisser. Not that she had very much comparison. But this simply felt stunningly great.

When Ronon pulled back Jennifer sank against his chest and panted: "Wow!"

"Yeah." he chuckled. "We should do that again."

Grinning like mad she raised her head to look at him: "What about right now?"

His face lit up and he nodded: "Sounds good."

This time she leaned up and met him halfway for another kiss.

_**The end**_

**AN:**_ I hope you liked this chapter (at least a bit grins). I'm certainly not going to post any more Ronon/Keller stories unless I have a really great idea – which is rather unlikely. As you certainly noticed I'm far from being at home in this fandom. At least, I feel more comfortable writing for another fandom and have far more ideas for stories that would never work with Ronon/Keller or in the Stargate universe at all. Anyway, this was an attempt and as I said I hope you liked it. Thanks for reading and for all the reviews I received so far. They were very much appreciated._


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